1/23/2013 9:55 AM PST

Breaking News

Junior Seau's family has filed a lawsuit against the NFL over brain injuries the Chargers legend sustained during his career -- injuries they claim caused him to kill himself.

The family filed the wrongful death lawsuit today in San Diego, claiming the league willfully hid the truth about the dangers of repetitive blows to the head ... such as those regularly sustained by professional football players.

According to the lawsuit, Seau suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) from those hits -- a condition that his family claims drove him to suicide.

The Seau family is also suing NFL helmet manufacturer Riddell -- calling the helmets dangerous and claiming the company was "negligent in their design."

Seau died last May after shooting himself in the chest. He was 43.

The Seau lawsuit is just one of a reported 175 lawsuits filed against the NFL by players and their families over head injuries sustained during their careers.

After filing the lawsuit, the family released a statement, saying, "We know this lawsuit will not bring back Junior. But it will send a message that the NFL needs to care for its former players, acknowledge its decades of deception on the issue of head injuries and player safety, and make the game safer for future generations."

The NFL hasn't responded to the lawsuit -- but after it was revealed Seau had CTE, the league released a statement, saying, "The NFL ... is committed to supporting a wide range of independent medical and scientific research that will both address CTE and promote the long-term health and safety of athletes at all levels."

1/10/2013 5:15 AM PST

Junior Seau was living with a degenerative brain disease caused by the brutal shots to the head he took during his NFL career, this according to a new study ... and Seau's family believes the condition drove him to suicide.

The National Institutes of Health released the findings of the study scientists did on Seau's brain after he shot himself in the chest last year ... and concluded Junior suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative disease typically caused by multiple hits to the head.

Several Seau family members are speaking out about the findings of the study -- Junior's ex-wife told ABC News, "He was a warrior and he loved the game ... but I know that he didn't love the end of his life."

When Junior's 23-year-old son Tyler was asked if his father's career was "worth it" -- he replied, "It's not worth it for me to not have a dad ... so to me, it's not worth it."

9/6/2012 3:30 PM PDT

EXCLUSIVE

The San Diego Chargers will honor the memory of fallen NFL superstar Junior Seau during their home opener on Sunday Sept. 16 ... and TMZ has learned his entire family will be on hand to witness the ceremony.

A rep for the Chargers tells us ... Junior's mother, father, ex-wife, 4 children and other family members will be the guests of honor during a pre-game ceremony dedicated to Seau ... the greatest Chargers linebacker of all-time.

We're told the team will officially retire Junior's #55 jersey during the ceremony ... and the family will be presented with a special "surprise gift" from the organization.

The team will also debut the special #55 helmet sticker, which each Chargers player will wear during the game.

As we previously reported, Junior Seau was found dead in his San Diego home on May 2nd from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest.

Related Articles

5/6/2012 2:54 PM PDT

Exclusive Photo

Junior Seau was honored today when more than 1,000 people "paddled out" in the ocean to pay their respects to the NFL legend.

The water-based memorial took place in Oceanside, CA this afternoon -- directly in front of his beachfront home -- and allowed friends, neighbors and locals to mourn the superstar together. Surfers were heard chanting his name and jersey number as they gathered in the ocean.

Seau was known to be an avid surfer.

Seau died Wednesday from a self-inflicted gun shot wound to the chest. He was 43.

5/5/2012 6:45 AM PDT

Junior Seau's family met yesterday to begin planning a public memorial for the football legend ... TMZ has learned.

Sources close to the Seaus tell TMZ, they want to give grieving fans the opportunity to honor his life and his career in the presence of each other.

We're told the public memorial -- to be held somewhere in California -- will take place separate from the family's private Oceanside memorial, specifically to give fans the opportunity to mourn together.

A date for the public memorial has yet to be set. The private memorial will be held Sunday.

5/4/2012 1:13 PM PDT

TMZ has obtained the horrific 911 call placed by Junior Seau's girlfriend moments after the NFL legend shot himself in the chest Wednesday morning at his Oceanside, CA home.

Junior's GF Megan Noderer (below) is so hysterical during the call she can hardly speak -- claiming she had just returned from the gym (around 10AM) when she discovered Junior's bloody body.

Megan tells the dispatcher, Junior wasn't breathing when she arrived and had appeared to have shot himself "in the heart."

Authorities responded and attempted to revive Seau, but life-saving efforts were unsuccessful. Seau was pronounced dead on the scene soon after. He was 43.

Seau's family claims he exhibited no signs of depression before his death -- but has since donated his brain to be studied for concussion research.

As we previously reported, the manner in which Seau killed himself -- gunshot to the chest -- is leading many to believe he wanted to leave his brain intact so researchers could study the long-term effects of concussions sustained in the NFL.

5/4/2012 5:33 AM PDT

Junior Seau's family will donate the NFL legend's brain to be studied for concussion research ... a rep for the family has announced.

San Diego Chargers team chaplain Shawn Mitchell told The L.A. Times, "The family was considering this almost from the beginning, but they didn't want to make any emotional decisions. And when they came to a joint decision that absolutely this was the best thing, it was a natural occurrence for the Seau family to go forward."

The family has NOT decided which research center will get Seau's brain -- but the two leading candidates are the Sports Legacy Institute at Boston University and the Brain Injury Research Institute.

As we previously reported, Seau apparently commited suicide by shooting himself in the chest -- leading many to believe he wanted to leave his brain intact so researchers could study the long-term effects of concussions sustained in the NFL.